We went with Scott Pilgrim in last week’s belligerent brawl, and while I normally try to avoid repeating myself, we’re going to go right back to that same comic for this week’s edition of… FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS!

So again, from 2004′s Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O’Malley, we continue our battle between Scott Pilgrim and Matthew Patel, as Patel demonstrates his magical abilities by summoning a horde of Demon Hipster Chicks:

And then breaking into a Bollywood musical!

And after that comes a scene that I really wished had appeared in the movie: Scott and his friends sing along!

That’ll take care of things for us for this week — enjoy your weekend, and see y’all back here in a few days.

Daredevil #24

Daredevil still has to deal with the mystery of the mysteriously blinded lunatics with his own super-sensory powers who attacked him last issue, and the mastermind behind all his recent troubles wonders why he hasn’t been more interested in the problem. Of course, Matt Murdock is mostly focused on his friend and coworker, Foggy Nelson, who has been diagnosed with cancer. He also tries to break up with his semi-girlfriend, assistant D.A. Kirsten McDuffie, only to learn that she’s already broken up with him. And he has to deal with the mastermind, who’s sent him a crate full of Daredevil-ized dogs.

Verdict: Thumbs up. A crazy issue, lots of stuff going on, but it works together into a theme of Matt trying to get his life back together — and of Foggy worrying that his life is ending. I really hope y’all are reading this — it’s one of the best pure-superheroics comics out there.

Wonder Woman #18

Wonder Woman and Ares have traveled to Demeter’s neck of the woods to look for Zola’s baby. They’re both attacked by Hermes — formerly a good guy — but Orion shows up again, giving Diana the chance she needs to take Hermes out of the fight. Meanwhile, Poseidon must fight the nameless titan (Have they ever given him a name? Am I forgetting that dude’s name or what?), and Ares makes his own attempt to take control of the baby.

Verdict: Thumbs up. Well, mostly thumbs up. Most of it’s just fine — the action is fun, the art is great — but I’m starting to get a mite peeved at the characterization we’re getting of Diana and Orion. It seems… off in certain ways. Orion is way too casual, Diana is way too passive when she’s around him.

According to my calendar, today is the first day of spring. So the nice weather can start riiiiiight about… now. And warm temperatures, please — not extreme wind, thunderstorms, or tornadoes, please.

So to commemorate this hopefully happy occasion, here’s a bunch of comics dedicated to spring.

(Yeah, “Hellraiser Spring Slaughter.” Anything for a seasonal tie-in, I guess.)

Seriously, ready for that nice weather right now. I mean now. Now, please. Now? Okay, okay, how ’bout riiiight… now.

Bah, next thing you know, we’ll have a blizzard, just to spite me…

Batgirl #18

Batgirl survives — barely — her close call with Firefly, all while Gotham’s citizens try to pull her out of the wreckage — and her psychotic brother tries to find her to kill her. Barbara learns from her father that Damian Wayne is dead, and James Jr. calls her to threaten her. He misses the chance to kill his mother, and Batgirl goes after Firefly and then tries to track James down.

Verdict: Thumbs up. The story is fine, and the tension with James Jr. is handled well. But it is a bit annoying that the cover promises much mourning about Robin’s death, only to deliver a couple of pages in which no one sounds particularly sad. (And it’s not like this version of Batgirl ever had much to do with Damian anyway — that was all Stephanie Brown…)

Sledgehammer 44 #1

Here’s a story from the Hellboy universe’s World War II. Mike Mignola and John Arcudi tell the tale, while Jason Latour and Dave Stewart illustrate. It focuses on a small group of dogfaces in occupied France who are called on to help support a guy in powered armor who’s been airdropped in to fight the Nazis. While he meets with initial success, you can always trust the Nazis to have a much larger mecha on their side. Even if the good guys can survive that onslaught, can they escape from the Nazis — toting the powered-armor Sledgehammer in a wheelbarrow, no less — without getting captured or killed?

Verdict: Thumbs up. But I’m a complete sucker for fightin’ robots in WWII.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s pert-near the weekend, and it’s time for us to get it started with a nice fat dose of… FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS!

I think I’m gonna split this battle across a couple of weeks ’cause it’s so good. It’s from 2004’s Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O’Malley, as Scott begins his fight against Matthew Patel.

Things’ll get musical next week, but for now, head on over to SpaceBooger’s joint and vote for your favorite fight.

Batman and Robin #18

Robin is dead, and the first of the post-death Batman comics is an entirely wordless story focusing on Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth mourning Damian Wayne. There are no grand events depicted here — brief moments and small items that remind Batman of his son, ranging from an unfinished portrait to a sketchbook. Batman goes on patrol in Gotham, constantly expecting to see his son patrolling with him, constantly disappointed to see that he isn’t. Will the Dark Knight let rage consume him? Or will pure sorrow do the job?

Verdict: Thumbs up. It’s a beautiful story. Ain’t much more to say about it. It’s a beautiful story.

Batman #18

Scott Snyder gets his chance to do a little more mourning. Much of this story focuses on Harper Row, a Batman fangirl who’s been spotlighted a few times. She and her brother Cullen are still living on their own, their scumbag father locked up in Blackgate Prison. Harper keeps fairly close ties on Batman and has noticed that he’s been running himself harder than usual the last few nights. Concerned that he’s going to get worn out and killed by someone, she starts going out to try to help him. She saves him from a dog trainer who’s dosing his attack dogs with Venom, but she gets rewarded with a furious lecture and a broken nose from the Dark Knight. She ends up going to see Bruce Wayne, because she knows he helps fund some of Batman’s activities, to request his aid to help the Caped Crusader. What’s her plan? And will either Bruce Wayne or Batman help her?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Harper Row is a really interesting character, and I do enjoy any chance we get to spend more time with her. The smart money is that she’ll eventually become the new Robin, or at least another member of the Bat-family, so she’s worth watching out for. My lone criticism here is that, aside from the cover, there isn’t actually anything here about Robin. Yes, Batman is clearly mourning him, but well, it’s not much of a requiem when the kid isn’t even mentioned…

Today’s Cool Links:

• Here’s a Kickstarter project for a printed collection of “Worsted for Wear,” a webcomic about fabric arts and crafts by former Lubbock artists Rachael and Josh Anderson. They’ve already hit their goal, but you can still pitch in to get some of the awesome yarn-related loot.
• Speaking of Kickstarters, here’s a project from a friend of mine. It’s perfect for anyone who loves books. She needs less than $150 to get funded, so go pitch some money her way, okay?
• Having some technology troubles? Let Star Trek be your helpline.
• Some obsolete words are just too awesome to be believed.

Daylight Savings Time is really doin’ a number on my ability to stay awake and concentrate on much of anything, so I ain’t thought of a thing worth blogging about.

So instead, here’s a couple panels of Deadpool plugging this blog.

Because you know a guy aware of the Fourth Wall is probably reading Z-list comics blogs, right?

(Thanks to Derek Moreland for the scans)

(Also, hoping I didn’t have to reduce that too small for y’all to be able to read.)

Okay, I’m tired and in no mood to spend a long time summarizing these comics, so yoiks and away!

Worlds’ Finest #10

The missing Michael Holt (better known to us comics folks as Mr. Terrific) has apparently been targeting Karen Starr’s labs for paramilitary sabotage, so Power Girl strikes back, wrecking a number of Holt labs and even starting an earthquake that gets out of hand. Huntress learns that Damian Wayne, her kinda-sorta half-brother, has died and pays a visit to his grave, narrowly avoiding an encounter with Batman.

Verdict: Thumbs up. For the most part, typical superhero shenanigans, but the art’s nice. I do wish they didn’t assume we knew dippity-doo about what Mr. Terrific was doing in the New 52. That comic wouldn’t have been cancelled if readers had been paying attention to it.

The Hypernaturals #9

A lot of fighting happen. Seriously, a LOT of fighting.

Verdict: Ehhh, for the most part, not that bad. The action really is very good. I enjoyed the glimpse we get of the older Hypernaturals team. The big cliffhanger kinda lost some of its impact for me because I really could not remember the character it referenced.

Ame-Comi Girls #1

I really don’t know why this series started over with a new Number-One. But they did anyway. Wonder Woman shows up on the scene, Supergirl is still evil, the villains bail on Brainiac and team up with the heroes, and Power Girl is deep underground trying to shut off the machines that will suck the world’s mental energies down to zero.

Verdict: Bah, I’d hoped this very, very long storyarc was almost over, but now it looks like it’s going to run another half-dozen issues.

Alright, lads and ladettes, it’s another Friday night at the beginning of another much-too-short weekend, so let’s try to squeeze all the enjoyment we can out of these meager few days before Monday kicks us in the butt again. In other words, tighten your shorts, pilgrim, it’s… FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS!

Tonight’s battle is from June 2009’s Marvel Adventures: The Avengers #35 by Paul Tobin and Casey Jones, in which Batroc the Leaper pays the team a visit to talk a little smack and leap into a little butt-whuppery.

And if a Frenchman kicking an archer in the face doesn’t get you in the mood to party, there’s something wrong with your party glands.

Colder #5

Nimble Jack has Declan trapped and paralyzed, rapidly dropping to his deadly freezing point, while he drags him on a guided tour of his own life before he finally cracks his skull open and feasts on his madness. Does Declan have any chance against Nimble Jack? Or are he and Reece doomed to get eaten alive by the villain?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Oh, man, I want to spoil so very much of this story, ’cause it’s so very, very good. You know how a lot of horror series start off really great, then never manage to sell the deal at the end? This is not one of them. This one hits on all cylinders all the way to the end. You get creepiness, you get action, you get buckets of gore — including the scene promised on the gruesome cover of the first issue. You even get good characterization and a few precious nibbles of humor. I’m going to trust that y’all have been reading this entire series — but if you haven’t, you’d better keep your eyes peeled for the trade paperback. If there’s any justice, Paul Tobin and Juan Ferreyra are gonna win some awards for this one.

Hellboy in Hell #4

Hellboy is rescued from another tight spot by the mysterious figure who has aided him before, and this time, he learns his benefactor’s identity: Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder. Grey reveals how he disappeared from history and how he ended up trapped in Hell — and he offers Hellboy a chance at freedom and a new life. Can Hellboy take the bargain?

Verdict: Thumbs up. It’s really great to see Edward Grey again — I really enjoyed his previous series. I don’t know if this is the last issue of this series — if it is, it’s not a bad place to leave Big Red. If it isn’t, I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Today’s Cool Links:

• Wow, it looks like Random House has decided they want to start cheating authors to try to earn a few extra bucks.
• Here ya go, writers — here are Pixar’s rules for storytelling.
• Here’s a creepy bit of music composed by a five-year-old kid — and designed to be read backwards.